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Leaving the Cave
A lone man walked through the cave system, drips of water echoed in the long hallway. The man traversed it softly, almost like a feather in the breeze. As he entered a larger cave he could hear the faint sound of pained grunts and cries in another cave far ahead of him. A laugh almost escaped him but he held it in and moved forwards. As he approached the cave the sounds where echoing from he could see a boy practicing his kenjutsu with a water blade. "Looks like my prey is ready." The man though to himself as he melded into the shadows and climbed to the ceiling of the cave, unseen by the boy. He slowly made his way above the body before dropping and landing before him. "BOOO" He shouted as threads shot from his sleeves. It as the threads shot from Hougou's sleeves, there was a loud squelching sound, as 'Kenta' exploded into a puff of smoke, replaced by a medium sized rock. The real Kenta stood three metres away, leaning against a wall, still sweaty from his training. "The past two months of training only served to defend my instincts from that kind of attack, sensei." Kenta stated, calmly recollecting the various tortures at odd hours Hougou had put him through. Odd habits which had guaranteed Kenta's hypersensitivity to small irregularities. Like the mildest sound of eroded, tiny stone prices of the cave ceiling dislodging as Hougou had leapt downwards from the ceiling. "So what's next?" He asked, as Hougou's bizarre appearances midway through training sessions always had ulterior motives. Hougou smiled at his student's finely tuned senses, he enjoyed the progress he was making. "Good job Kenta, I can see all our tests have been keeping you on edge." Hougou spoke as he poked fun at how Kenta developed these senses from fear. It was true though, Kenta had to constantly be on guard or else Hougou could place him in some devious trap at anytime. Hougou finally stopped his games and his face turned serious as he beckoned for Kenta to follow him to the main room. As they reached it he tossed Kenta a water bottle before turning around and looking at him. "Kenta today we are finally going to leave this cave and go back into the world for a couple of days. I think It's about time you meet my other student." The man continued as his pale brown eyes stared off into space. With an outstretched hand, Kenta grabbed the bottle and gulped its contents after examining the bottle subtly. He panted a little as he leaned against the cold,,rock wall. "Fresh air, I'd welcome that sensei." With a small shift, he straightened up, trying to steady his breathing before turning back to Hougou. The other student. Kenta had heard Hougou mention him a few times before, glowingly. "I don't mind that at all. When do we leave?" He asked Hougou. "Oh come on this musty air is good for the lungs, builds character." Hougou spoke with a small smile as he walked towards the exit tunnel. "As for leaving that would be now so grab your stuff and lets go. I'll meet you at the exit." Hougou shouted as he walked down the tunnel. As he emerged from the waterfall he pointed his hand backwards and whispered a few words before a glimmering barrier masked the place from sight. As the man stared at the world around them his mind wandered back to when he was training his old apprentice. It's funny how much of an delinquent he was and now that kids a warden, times really do change. He thought to himself as he awaited Kenta's arrival. Kenta reappeared next to Hougou in front of the now concealed cave. He was carrying a small rucksack on his back, slung behind his ever present Fuma Shuriken. Looking back at the invisible cave and then to Hougou, he heaved the backpack straight up. "I don't suppose he's anywhere nearby now, is he, sensei?" Kenta asked. He wasn't looking forward to three day treks, but even if Hougou's methods had seemed outlandish, they were very effective. Kenta was two times the shinobi he was when he had first stepped into Hougou's desolate lair; the rigorous training routines in the form of sudden shock attacks had trained Kenta to anticipate for the worst and act almost subconsciously to evade harm. His ninjutsu had also steadily advanced beyond mere basics, exploring the Water Release more intricately and profoundly, while also improving upon Genjutsu, which had once been his biggest weakness. Kenta had found it difficult to trust Hougou once, but he now understood why his mother had insisted that he train under the eccentric man before waging his battle to overthrow the leadership of Takigakure. The immortal man's great power was matched evenly by his aptitude as a teacher. "Oh it's just over in Kusagakure at the Prison. It shouldn't take us long if we just charge there." Hougou stated happily as he began trudging along the trail with Kenta following close behind. "So Kenta how's the new sword coming along?" Hougou asked his student. He had taught Kenta how to use the technique and left him in solace for a while, after that he never saw the kid practicing it in front of him again. Now Hougou was both a smart man and one who believed in people so he assumed that Kenta had been perfecting it by himself. "The Blood Prison eh..." Kenta stated, noting the fact that Hougou's student was now handling the infamous prison, filled with S ranked criminals. "It's been going good, in fact, I think it's suited to my combat style sensei." Kenta said, as they trudged along, responding to his mentor's question. Kenta deliberately practiced whatever techniques were taught to him in private, out of habit. Allowing others to note his progress in the open had never been a key wish of his, as he preferred to demonstrate his learnt moves only when there actually was improvement. ---- It had been a day and a half when Hougou and Kenta finally reached the massive structure that loomed over them. "Hmm the old place hasn't changed a but has it." Hougou spoke to no one in particular as he stared at the magnificent building. Just then Hougou grabbed Kenta and sharply dashed to the left before quickly placing him back on the ground and looking at where the tow were standing. In that very spot a massive explosion of fire and lightning blasted up from underground in a towering beam. As the dust cleared a lone man stood on perfectly repaired ground. He was a beast of a man not just in height bus his muscles clearly rippled through his shirt. "You could never sneak up on me could you." Hougou laughed as he looked at the man happily. "Well I was man close wasn't I." He replied as they both laughed. Hougou then looked down at Kenta and motioned to the man. "This is Jouman Gankai, my old student." Staring at the older man, it was now easy to see just how old Hougou actually was—his former student was now a greyed, muscled giant of a man, and he was also working with the Blood Prison. Talk about a welcome, what is with these guys? Kenta's psyche silently noted, drawing comparisons between both Hougou and Jouman, the form of eccentricity at its wildest. While he was still sweating over the previous attack, Kenta nodded, "Greetings, Jouman-San, I'm Kenta. Kenta Kanata." "Pleasure to meet ya kid." Jouman spoke as he clapped him on the back, probably harder than he should've. "So your Hougou's new pupil now huh. You must be pretty good to have survived a whole two months with him. Did he end up trying to scare you or wake you up by throwing you off a cliff? That stuff happened to me a lot." Jouman sighed as he stared at Hougou. "Hey it's not my fault you needed some serious discipline. At least Kenta has the decency to not fight back every time I try to murder him. I swear I had to break your arms at least twenty times." Hougou responded as they both shared another laugh. Lurching forward due to the impact of the big man's clap, Kenta nodded, brushing aside the rather hard thump. "Both," Kenta said in response to Jouman's question. The further interaction between the old student master duo proved to Kenta that the two really were disturbingly alike after all. Especially with the talk of broken bones so casually. "Oh boy well you sure are lucky to be alive." Jouman laughed as he turned back to Kenta. After what looked like a moment of pondering the old man let out a billowing laugh and turned towards Hougou. "I have a great idea let me have little spar with Kenta. I want to see how strong this kid is." Jouman laughed as he looked towards Hougou. "That was one of the main reasons I brought him here and you know that. Stop stealing my plans you senile bodybuilder." Hougou called out angrily. Jouman just ignored the man as he looked to Kenta and lowered into a sparring stance. "What do you say kiddo? I'll even let you make the first move." Jouman asked the boy, expecting only one answer from a student of Hougou's. "I figured Hougou sensei would have something like this up his sleeve, so I think I only have one real answer here," Kenta sighed, as he put down his bagpack. Taking on a warden of the Blood Prison...what am I even thinking? These guys are supposed to be on whack steroids. He mumbled in his mind, while he walked to the side, away from both Jouman and Hougou, towards a large, fat tree with numerous branches and leaves. Not a very sunny day, either. Cool. With a swift movement, he whipped out a kunai and held it in front of him, his leg retreating behind his body as he assumed a combat stance. "I'll accept your challenge, Jouman-san." He stated, as the wind blew his long hair, revealing his penetrating blue eyes; accentuated by the trees shadow like shining topaz. With haste, his left hand attached a small ball of purple to his kunai as he flung it forward at Jouman, setting it off into an explosion of purple smoke around Jouman, shielding Kenta from the more experienced shinobi's gaze. In a fleeting moment, the figure of Kenta burst through the smokescreen from behind Jouman, aiming a hard kick for the back of the man. "I'm a sensor boy." Jouman laughed as he sidestepped the attack and retaliated with a swift elbow that stopped a foot before it hit Kenta but the shockwave would be enough to blow him off his feet. As Jouman threw the elbow he jumped back and pointed his right hand forwards as flames flew from his hand, burning away the smoke and anything in it. "I hope that's not it kid." Jouman called out. However in his heart he knew the kid was alive and prepared himself for anything. The shockwave smashed into 'Kenta', dispersing the double into a large amount of water as it splashed harmlessly onto the ground ahead of Jouman. Jouman's Flames seared through the smoke as Kenta emerged with a poof from the very tree he'd stood under, having transformed himself into one of the thicker branches. Calmly he analysed Jouman. Sensory, superhuman strength and the Fire Release. His mind noted these obvious details as the two opponents faced each other without vision impairments. "Far from," Kenta stated in response to Jouman's statement of hope, as he wrapped a series of hand signs. The puddle of water beside Jouman exploded into a hail of spikes made of water, firing in a wave towards his side. "Oh good, I was almost scared this would be a waste of time." Jouman joked as he flicked his right hand again and a wave of fire evaporated the incoming water. Jouman thought back to Hougou's details about Kenta's training and what he had begun teaching him. He realized that he might as well put that training to good use. He reached out his fingers like guns and began firing off lighting projectiles. They were fast enough and spread far enough that kenta couldn't dodge them but slow enough that they wouldn't pierce through any thing Kenta threw at them. "I just hope this kid gets this. It would be a shame for him to end up like the rest" Jouman thought. Watching Jouman tackle the first wave of attacks, Kenta paused to think briefly. But Jouman wasn't giving him that much time. As the Lightning attacks flew at him, Kenta recalled his training, shooting forth the sphere of water from his mouth as he made a barrier of water between himself and Jouman's attack, causing the orb of water to sparkle and cackle with energy as lightning flowed around the water. While he had sought to redirect the Lightning earlier in Hougou's training, Kenta was now in a position to be able to channel it as an attack on its own, so with a slight sky smile, he formed the same series of hand signs from before and turned the orb into a barrage of projectiles again. Lightning infused projectiles. The same needles of water flew at Jouman again, this time propelled from the sphere of water. The sheer volume and number of them were redirected at the older man, ensuring that if he attempted to vaporise them, he'd be surrounded in hot steam, which would prove unpleasant to his skin. "Heh Hougou was right, this one is smart." Jouman thought to himself as he watched the kid block and even redirect his attack. The old man was pleased with this kid's show of vigor. As these thoughts raced through his head the old man clapped as a shield of what looked like green lighting formed around him. Immediately it began firing arcs of lighting towards the needles. Every arc hit its own mark and wiped out out all the needles without even causing them to explode as it neutralized the lighting before simply blasting the water apart. The lighting then disappeared as Jouman clapped his hands together, sending forth a massive wave of electrical fire. "Lets see you dodge this!" The old man yelled happily. A grimace appeared briefly on Kenta's face, there was no way he'd beat this guy in a direct brawl at his current skill level. "Lightning and fire, eh?" Kenta muttered slowly as he somersaulted backwards, rolling and pushing himself upward as the attack came towards him. He raced backwards towards the trees again. Smacking his own hands together, Kenta burst a jet of water ahead of him while taking cover behind one of the trees. The massive flame attack seared through the other trees, but the part Kenta sheltered at was relatively unharmed thanks to the aid of his water release, which met a small potion of the Flames headed towards him. Jouman's hands retreated back to his sides as the flames subsided, he was smiling from ear to ear. "You're good kid but I can see you're getting a bit sluggish. Let's just end this with a show huh. Put all your chakra into the most powerful attack you can muster. I wanna see what you can push yourself to create. After that I can give you guys a tour or we can get lunch." Jouman spoke as he stood his ground, ready to see what sort of attack this kid was capable of creating. "Fair enough," Kenta stated as his fingers weaved hand signs. The moisture in the ground under them seemed to swirl as he collected chakra inside his body, moulding it, preparing to fire it by utilising a large amount of his chakra. With a sudden whip forward, he expelled a powerful torrent of water towards Jouman with such belocity that the grass flattened, and the ground trembled. "Heh that's quite a large amount of power Kid." Jouman shouted as he stared at the roaring torrent that barreled towards him. The old man smiled as he held his right hand out towards the torrent and laughed as the torrent of water slammed into him. As the first droplet touches his hand the whole torrent stopped, before the entire thing split into thousands of floating water cubes. With a flick of his wrist the cubes flew to his right and gently deposited themselves onto the ground, creating a large pool of water. The old man then lowered his hand and walked towards the boy, clapping. "That was a great show kid. Now tell me, what did you think of your fight with me?" "For starters, I'm sure you only used one percent or so of your own true power, since you were mostly holding back. I think we'd only truly be able to call it a fight some other day, Jouman San...this day seemed to be more of a.." Kenta trailed away momentarily, finding a suitable word. He found it. "...test." With that he clipped his weapons pouch again and relaxed his posture, still a let inside for the possibility of Hougou pulling something at him from the shadow. "You're better than I expected kid." Jouman spoke to Kenta. "Much much better than the last one Hougou brought to me." Jouman spoke while exchanging a glance with Hougou who had set up a picnic table and was currently eating a sandwich. "I guess now would be a good time to ask Jouman any questions you have about him." Hougou spoke in between bites. "I'd hate to admit it but I guess I owe it to Hougou sensei's training," Kenta stated modestly, attributing Jouman's praise to the eccentric old being. Kenta sat himself still, exhale and then glanced at Jouman again. "Jouman-san, how long did you train to achieve movements like that? Not a single ounce of your Taijutsu nor ninjutsu was wasted, they were in perfect coordination...despite the erratic flow of my attacks...and that ninjutsu, surely it was a branch of something higher than even A rank?" Kenta enquired. "What do you mean hate to admit it." Hougou spoke as he pointed his sandwich at Kenta accusingly. "I thought we were friends." He half cried as two literal waterfalls streamed from his eyes. Messing with Kenta was way too much fun. Jouman just sighed at his former master's antics. After so many years with the man almost nothing he did phased him. "Well for starters I trained with Hougou for around 14 years or so. In those years we did lots of stuff but our main focus was making me a non berserker. Ya see when I was 16 I won the chunin exams using nothing but my fists but I didn't even show a hint of intelligence just mindless rage. My old teacher brought me up that way, he didn't really care. After I met Hougou though things changed. He taught me everything from proper fighting to advanced ninjutsu. As for my techniques I developed them myself, most are S rank and if they aren't they should be." The man smiled before once again pointing his finger into a gun and pointing it at a nearby forest. With a swift firing motion he moved his hand an placed it at his side before a second later a giant electrical explosion appeared on the far side of the forest. "That's the true power of the lighting attack I did before, ultimate piercing and a deadly explosion. Anyways I'm a user of lighting, fire, fuinjutsu, and my clan's Kekkei genkai." The old man finished, awaiting the kid's response. Kenta was no longer surprised by his master's 'seemingly' light attitude, so he allowed Hougou to go ahead, addressing Jouman's answers. "Interesting Jouman-San," he stated as he leaned backwards calmly, taking in the details. 14 years of training to propel him to the level he is currently on, but I don't have that kind of time. I've got at most, two years if I'm lucky. I'll just have to make due. He thighs to himself, thinking about the duty his mother had left him with. Hougou was a legendary teacher with Jouman to back his prowess, but it would be up to Kenta to accelerate in his short time. "You must see many hardcore criminals here," Kenta stated silently as he picked up a bottle of water. "Indeed I do Kenta." The old man huffed as he looked towards the old building. "I run Sector 7 of the prison. It's where we hold the worst of the worst or those that we don't want people to know are still alive." The man spoke, more serious now. "I've been warden there for thirty years now, coincidentally there have been zero successful breakouts and half the attempted ones in the past thirty years." He spoke with a small smile. Though he seemed so nice now Jouman was not to be trifled with. He was feared by the prisoners and his subordinates, so much so that his rule of the place was absolute. No one dared to challenge his authority or they would face his wrath, something no one wanted to see. As Hougou watched their conversation he noted the worry in Kenta's eyes. Kenta turned to look at the Blood Prison, as a cool breeze played with his long hair. His blue eyes held the daunting prison in their gaze for quite some time. There was a high possibility that he would be sentenced to this place, if his plan were to succeed. Or if he wasn't killed in the ensuing chaos. Mutiny, or a full out revolt like he was planning, never went well with one's village obviously, and the world at large. Kenta's plot involved the eradication of many powerful players on Takigakure's chain of command, despite the village's relative size compared to the other Five Giants of the Shinobi World. After the bloodshed, he would have to set up a massive act to somehow distance his family and even Hougou from the suspicion of being accomplices, and if he lived, he'd definitely carry the brand of missing-nin for the remainder of his life—and if he were to be caught after making a high enough mark on the world, he'd be rated an A-rank criminal or even an S, and he'd find himself under the experienced muscle of Jouman in a prison widely now known to be unbreakable. He'd probably never come out, all for ridding Takigakure of a corrupt leadership that wished to start a bloody war. Kenta half sighed and half chuckled at the despairing thought, before turning away. "Messy world we live in, isn't it, Hougou-sensei, Jouman-San?" He stated with a mildly sad grin on his face. Jouman noticed the sadness in Kenta's eyes and lightly patted the kid on the back. "Yeah it is isn't it." Jouman replied staring off towards the horizon. Though he had never really experienced the true pain of the world he saw it everyday. In his prison most lower class ninja were just prisoners of various wars and petty scuffles. They radiated with the pain of their fighting and their longing to be home. Hougou watched his two students with saddened eyes, he knew both of their true thoughts. Jouman was stuck up on the useless waste of life in prison, something even he couldn't solve as Warden. On the other hand he figured Kenta was finally thinking about his fate. Though it was grim this was the place he would go should he ever be caught, and the same place he would die for treason. This was the other reason he brought Kenta here, to show him the only other path besides running. This was a path Hougou followed long ago when he was still young. After the failed assassination of the fist Hokage Takigakure took a turn for the worse. Trading was down and the government was in shambles. The Daimyo told everyone he would fix it but he planned to abandon them all to the wolves. This was the first political figure Hougou executed, he knew in the long run it was better that Takigakure hate him but live on. Hougou took a step towards Kenta and ushered him away from Jouman. "I need a minute with the kid." Jouman obliged and sat to eat as Hougou walked Kenta away from him. "So you see the other reason why I brought you here huh. The fate that may befall you." He spoke solemnly. "Yeah, I see the reason," Kenta stated as the two walked. For a grim, desolate place, the Blood Prison was blessed with wonderful cooling winds. Kenta supposed that there was beauty even in shipwrecks. "Sensei, the time training with you also gave me a lot of time to ponder my fate. Every path I can walk if I achieve my goal I've set will be dark, and I suppose the closer I get to that day, the more I understand the cost of my incoming actions." Kenta said, as his eyes raised themselves from the grass, looking at Hougou in the eyes. "I'd be living a life like my mother, if I'm half as lucky as she was. She knew the cost of this to herself when she undertook it, and she knew what it would cost me when she beseeched me to help her. The worst part was that I knew the cost too, but I accepted it nevertheless. The sin of turning my blade against my village will forever taint my soul, and I've accepted that." Kenta exhaled softly, closed his eyes, and reopened them again. "Hougou sensei, you've always had trust and belief in the rebels and Minatsuki Kanata, my mother, that you never asked me why I've undertaken such a perilous mission; but if I withhold that knowledge from you now, I'll be a failure as an apprentice, comrade...and a friend." His eyes now radiated determination as the creases appeared above his brows. "Takigakure has been hiding crucial information, in the form of a military program. Before the death of the Jinchūriki Fuu, they had been able to extract and cultivate the chakra of her Tailed Beast, and they then discovered how to implant the said chakra into babies, or very young children. My mother discovered this science. Each child would then be able to access a Version 2 Jinchuriki transformation, granting them immense powers; regeneration, speed, strength, severely heightened invulnerability...in short the perfect army. My mom realised how wrong it was only after 176 children had been abducted for the program, and as the lead scientist, she fled the village with the plans to the experiment, hoping to delay its completion, or prevent it altogether. But it was only delayed. It was an underground program run by Hideki Takigawa, once our Chief of Espionage, who took over before the Fourth War, after our previous Village Head was found dead." Kenta's eyebrows deepened in angle. "Found murdered. The poison in his bloodstream was passed off as a drug overdose for public consumption. Until Takigawa had taken office, the project had been progressing painfully slow, but two years ago, he managed to find a breakthrough, and they're just one year away from achieving the end of the experiment. There are now 550 pseudo jinchuriki in their labs. Abducted from other lands aside from our own. Brainwashed. Puppets of power for Takigawa and his advisors' lust for control. They'll destroy the Shinobi Alliance step by step first from the inside, and then turn them against each other. A world war again, which this time leaves Takigakure atop millions of bodies. We have to stop it from inside before that date, and I have the blueprints to put a cog in that project. Of course then I'll have to kill off Takigawa and his cronies for assurance. And then, I will leave Takigakure a criminal, just like my mother." He stated as he turned away, looking at the sky. The old man smiled sadly as he looked upon Kenta. His story was sad but true and Hougou knew every bit of it. Despite his seclusion he was surprisingly well versed on the events of the entire town. He knew of the horrible program, but he would never speak of it. This wasn't the first time Taki had tried a super solider program. Long ago when Hougou was still a member of the council Taki had proposed they create a program utilizing their famed hero water. It was originally turned down but after Hougou left the vote was redone and succeeded. This original program utilized both children and adults and overdosed them with the water. The result was grotesque and powerful chakra monsters, things that should not exist. Hougou himself put them down, even people he knew he killed without hesitation. This was the eventual last straw that drove him to leave Taki and travel. Hougou was sad his pupil had already accepted his future but happy that he had accepted it, in some ways he was better than his master. "If you must do it then you must kid." Hougou spoke, watching the horizon with an unmoving gaze. "The eventual fate of most who try to change things is going into hiding or death. I personally don't want these things to happen to you but I want you to know I'll support you either way." "That's true sensei, it's something I've gotta do. All my life I sought to 'show' loyalty to Takigakure, eventhough I knew I served evil men. I hated myself, but I hated my mother more..and ironically she showed me the way to redemption. She showed me what my heart yearned for, and unlocked the door to my wish." Kenta's visage took a slightly more contorted tone as his gaze penetrated Hougou. "Sensei, many times in history there have been occurrences where even after foul blood is spilt, evil maintain its grip. We've gotta make sure that this isn't the case in Takigakure." Kenta now paced up and down, erratically waving his hands as he brought out his thoughts. Thoughts which apparently had been contemplated over for quite some time. "One of us has to take over Takigakure after the killing is done, and the Pseudo Jinchuriki project is stopped." He stopped pacing and looked at Hougou, "You need to take over, sensei. They'd never suspect it. There's still nothing to link you and me together; I'm on a leave of medical absence, and you've been missing in their books for years. It's the perfect plan. You've been here longer than any living soul in Takigakure, your wisdom is great, you have a thirst for justice but most importantly.." He trailed off as a mildly mad grin drew across his face, "...you aren't afraid to get your hands dirty. The very first day I came to you for training, you ran through three thieves like it was nothing to you. The killing. We'll need someone like that to rule over the Waterfall." The mad grin disappeared as his serious tone returned. "You can also guarantee the safety of my family once I do the deed." He rubbed his temples as the thoughts raced through again. "I'm sorry for sounding so insistent sensei. But the point is, we need someone worthy to take over. I can't kill all the politicians in our village for no reason, even if I know they're all corrupt. I won't be able to win a one man war against the whole village. But we can ensure someone powerful takes the reigns, a champion for and to the people. We wrench the politicians so badly that they don't dare stake their claim to the highest seat. Once one of us takes over, we can burn the snakes among us one by one. And ultimately save Takigakure." Kenta stated softly. He approached Hougou. "I'll be the evil force that launches the leader we need to power. I'll be the demon that the people fear, the pushing force to make them rally around the leader they deserve." "Heh, Heh, heh, hahhhhahhahahhahahahha." Hougou roared into a string of laughter that went on far too long before finally settling. He looked at Kenta with a half craze look on his face. "Me? Me of all people." He roared as the laughter continued. After another moment it finally subsided and Hougou looked at his pupil. "Anything you do to Taki won't even make you half as bad as me. I never told you but I'm a wanted man in most of the nations and a threat to others. If you look in the bingo book you'll find a man from Taki named "The Ripper". That was me, or used to be me. I destroyed the official records of who the actual Ripper was and killed all those who knew but if I ever took a position of power the eventual digging would find me out and make Taki a prime target for wiping off the map." The man sighed as he looked back to the horizon. "Kenta I've assassinated political leaders in almost every nation, killed royalty in multiple kingdoms, and raised whole villages. I left that behind years ago and I promised myself the Ripper would never return." He spoke as his face showed the visible guilt of everything he did, there was true sadness in his eyes. "I'll help you end this crummy project of theirs and even help you hide. However I could never take over, you'll need to find someone else." "In that case, I cannot force this upon you sensei," Kenta stated with a soft exhale. But as he wallowed in his thoughts for awhile, he found another idea. Kenta was no psychic, nor was he perceptive enough to discern a man's thoughts from his face, but there was a certain look he knew by heart. A look familiar enough to him because he had seen it in the mirror every single day before he had taken up this crusade. A pent up feeling of helplessness and contained anger, a sense of questioning one's own desires. And he saw that look in Jouman as well, that unmistakable distant look. Who else would know Jouman better than his own sensei, Hougou? "Unless sensei," Kenta turned to look at Hougou, "Jouman-san could become the leader of Taki. You've known him since he was a boy, you trained him to become the best. The fact that he's warden here speaks volumes about his power, and his willingness to sacrifice a normal life to watch these evil criminals. Wouldn't such a man be willing to take Taki back to the right path, and eliminate those who seek to return it to the darkness?" Kenta knew this was a perfectly sound suggestion. Jouman did not know of these happenings, he presumed, but if Hougou trusted him this deeply, Kenta knew he would be trustworthy. Hougou stopped and thought as Kenta spoke of asking his former student to run an entire village. It was quite an interesting proposal and possibly something brilliant from his new student. With Jouman at the helm of the village both Kenta and Hougou could both leave in peace. With a wave of his arm Hougou called Jouman over to them. "Jouman you recall the mission I told you me and Kenta are going to undertake." He spoke. "The one where you'll never be allowed back in the world, yeah I know it." The old man replied. "Well Kenta here had the brilliant idea that we could make you the new Kage when all this is said and done." Hougou spoke as Jouman stopped to think. While it was true he loved being a warden he also wanted to help people in other ways. It was obvious that the village would need someone they could look up to after all this was said and done, someone they could lean on in the wake of the destruction that was sure to come. It also wasn't like he couldn't still go back and instill massive amount of fear into the criminals. With a hearty nod Jouman came back to reality. "If this is really what you guys need them I'm in. It's not like I'm getting any younger so maybe a sit down job will help." Jouman laughed as he accepted there proposal. "Good now comes the tricky part. After the eventual fight within the village the people need to see the ones who razed their village killed by someone. Whoever that is will become the next Kage." Hougou spoke as Jouman looked on horrified. "I'd never kill the two of you not even for this." The man spoke angrily. "Don't worry." Hougou replied. "You won't be killing us. All you need to do is spilt us into cubes, make people think that you killed us and then meld the cubes into the ground before reforming them outside the village." Jouman nodded at this. "That I can do." Hougou then looked to Kenta. "Any thoughts on this?" "Well since Jouman-san's good with the plan, and we seem to have the escape route secured, I'd say things are taking shape. Takigakure's respect for power will see the villagers rally around the saviour of the village, after their main leadership is wiped out." Kenta breathed a sigh of relief, before his face turned grim again. "Of course, we'll have to destroy, and kill others as well; keeping careful to not decimate the military too far in, or we'll be attacked by opportunistic villages. Of course the nearby, smaller villages have always vied with us, and with a revolt underway, they may take the chance to attack us while we're in disarray. We'll have to take this into consideration. Jouman-San, perhaps the time has come for you to return to Taki. Work with he filth that rule over us until the day comes, in the coming months. Let the people know your power, let them trust you, and once we execute the plan...you'll be in the driving seat." He now shifted his gaze solely to Hougou. "Sensei, the path I'm taking is a path you once took many years ago. Are you absolutely sure you want to travel down that path again?" He questioned Hougou, not wanting his own sins to be carried upon his teacher as well. "It seems that may be a good option for us. I'll go work up an excuse to temporarily transfer myself into Taki. A possible job in simply connecting them to our prison. With the slowness of simple politics and some luck that should give me enough time to be there during the eventual fall. In case we do decimate too much of the armies you forget who you have with you Kenta." Jouman spoke jubilantly. "I'm a man that regularly deals with one man armies and Hougou was literally a slayer of armies back in the day, trust me you event seen everything he can do." With those words spoken Jouman bid the two farewell and wished them the best of luck before returning to the prison. Hougou then looked over to Kenta, a large smile on his face."Kenta my dear boy I've already coated my life in sins. Every single life I've claimed has accumulated within my soul. I literally have hundreds of thousands of spare hearts, all preserved, all my victims." He paused as he looked over to the horizon. "You and I both know I wouldn't leave you alone on this. Even with your skill you are going up against an army of Pseudo-Jinjuriki, That is something you cannot handle at your current level." The man spoke. Kenta smiled at his mentor's reassuring words and nodded. "Alright then sensei. I suppose we've got one part of all of this worked out, which makes things much easier." They both watched as Jouman strode away from them, finally entering the Blood Prison again through its newly enforced, gigantic gates; as the giant man disappeared behind the huge, groaning doors. Kenta could see the pride in Hougou's eyes when he beheld Jouman, and that alone assured him that Jouman was the right man for the job. Takigakure's small stature meant that it had to be brutal and strong when threatened, as even minor leeway could lead to massive negative repercussions for the village. Jouman had that brutal strength. As another cool breeze blew, the two travellers still stood there, before Kenta turned to Hougou. "I'm guessing we're not in Takigakure just to visit Jouman-san, right?" He asked. Hougou smiled at his student and nodded. "You already know me so well Kenta." The man spoke with a sly smile. "We are indeed out here for another reason. I decided it might be useful to actually put your infiltration and killing skills to the test. We have three targets in three different lands, each its own little mission. I'm going to give you some more training as we go thought so be sure to keep on your toes." Hougou spoke before lowering his voice to a quite malevolent whisper. "Cause out here I have infinite ways to get you." He then moved his head away from Kenta and began walking in the direction of their first mission. Laughing as he went.